
Ryanair introduces £500 fines for disruptive passengers
The carrier said this will be the 'minimum' punishment, and it will continue to pursue passengers for civil damages.
Ryanair expressed hope the new policy will 'act as a deterrent to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour'.
A spokesperson for the airline said: 'It is unacceptable that passengers are made to suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger's behaviour.
'To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a £500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.
'While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable.'
Ryanair has repeatedly called for a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger to be introduced at airport bars in response to an increase in disorder on flights.
It claims this would result in 'a safer travel experience for passengers and crews'.
Passengers causing disruption during flights can cause aircraft to be diverted, which often costs the airline thousands of pounds.
Ryanair announced in January it had started taking legal action to recover losses from disruptive passengers, as part of what it described as a 'major misconduct clampdown'.
It said it filed civil legal proceedings against a passenger in Ireland to seek 15,000 euros (£12,600) in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote which diverted to Porto in April last year.
Ryanair contends the passenger's behaviour caused the diversion.
It said the 15,000 euros consists of costs such as overnight accommodation for the more than 160 passengers and six crew members (7,000 euros or £5,900), Porto airport landing and handling fees (2,500 euros or £2,100) and Portuguese legal fees (2,500 euros or £2,100).
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Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
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Investigators vowed to the Mirror in 2021 that Christian Brueckner would be charged in months, but four years later they are still searching for evidence as his release date looms It was a drizzly, autumnal day when I met with Hans Christian Wolters in his office in Braunschweig in October 2021. The quietly-spoken German prosecutor was in an unusually bullish mood. 'We're 100% convinced Christian Brueckner killed Madeleine McCann,' he told me. Noting the look of surprise of my face, he continued: 'There's no other possibility. There is no hope she is alive.' Mr Wolters went even further, directly addressing Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann. 'We are confident we have the man who took and killed your daughter,' he said. There was the headline. He then added: 'All I can do is ask for your patience. I personally think a conclusion will be reached next year.' Next year. As in 2022. But nearly four years on from that exclusive interview, a conclusion of a different kind appears to be on the horizon. And it is not one that Mr Wolters, the McCanns or the wider public are hoping for. Christian Brueckner - the paedophile, rapist and only suspect in Madeleine's disappearance - is about to walk free from prison. And it increasingly appears there is little the authorities can do to stop it happening. It is a nightmare scenario for them - and one that Mr Wolters insisted back in 2021 would never happen. But even during our interview, I was beginning to have doubts about just what police 'had' on Brueckner. When naming him as their prime suspect in June 2020, prosecutors said they had 'evidence' Madeleine is dead. But when I pressed Mr Wolters on what evidence they had that proved she was dead but was not enough to charge Brueckner, he backtracked. 'It is circumstantial evidence - there are witnesses, demonstrative evidence, forensic experts, and other types of evidence,' he admitted. 'We have no scientific evidence. If we had a video of the act [killing] then we would not have had to make a public appeal. 'If we had a picture of Madeleine dead with Brueckner on camera, then obviously the same would apply. But we only have circumstantial evidence. We have no body and no DNA but we have other evidence." That was the first glimpse of things not being quite as rosy as billed in the Madeleine investigation. Now, at least publicly, the entire case appears to be in disarray. Last week I watched as a team of German detectives searched for clues on disused farmland in Portugal. T he three-day search, costing a reported £300,000, involved the use of a JCB, pick-axes and ground-penetrating radar. It ended in apparent failure, with nothing of significance found. The Germans shook hands with their Portuguese counterparts, handing them a crate of pilsner beers as a thank you. As I watched the search peter out, I could imagine the glee on the faces of Brueckner and his legal team. His current release date from Sehnde Prison, where he is serving a rape sentence, is September 17. That gives prosecutors just 96 days to charge their prime suspect or watch powerlessly as he walks free from jail. Last week's search suggests they still do not have enough circumstantial evidence to confidently take the case to court. The main 'evidence' they have reportedly revolves around the testimony of German drifter Helge Busching. He claims Brueckner said 'she didn't scream' when they discussed the case while sitting around a campfire at a hippy festival in Spain in 2008. It was another nine years before recycling worker Busching gave police this 'smoking gun' nugget of information. 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Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
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BreakingNews.ie
21 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
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